Adams class ship USS Essex (IX-10) was designed and constructed by premier North American shipwright Donald McKay. Her keel was laid down in 1874 and she was launched in 1876. She was a three-decked wooden screw steamer sloop-of-war with auxiliary sail (bark-rigged). She was 185 feet long, 35 feet in the beam, had a 14.25-foot draft, and was 1,375 tons. When commissioned, she carried six big guns, all muzzle loaders: one XI-inch and four IX-inch Dahlgren Naval Artillery guns, and one 60-pound Parrott Rifle The ship’s armory carried dozens of small arms including rifles, pistols, revolvers, and cutlasses. Further, she carried a six auxiliary boats including a launch, two cutters, a whale boat, one gig, and a dinghy. The combinations of guns and watercraft carried on board USS Essex could change from log book to log book. She served with the US Navy in active duty and as a training ship with the Ohio Naval Militia, the Illinois Naval Militia, and the Minnesota Naval Militia. She was intentionally burned on Minnesota Point in Lake Superior at Duluth in 1931. Her Minnesota Archaeological Site Number is 21-SL-1030 and she is a National Register of Historic Places Property.

Maritime Heritage Minnesota digitized the 62 known USS Essex log books held at the National Archives in Washington, DC, and at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis in 2010. The log books consist of the daily activities on board the Essex as recorded by deck officers on duty. Those deck notes were then transcribed to be the official log of the Essex that were sent to the Navy Department in Washington, DC, where they were bound into their current book form. At the beginning of most log books, there are: a title page, two list of officers pages, a crew complement page (listing the crew by rank and job), an armaments page (list of the different large guns, boats, and small arms), and two pages of compass observations. Not all log books contain these pages and some include additional information, including a plan and section of the Essex in Log Books 8 and 9 and four pages of directions on how to fill out log pages in Log Book 21. Sometimes two transcribed versions of log pages were sent to the Navy Department and duplicate books were produced. However, sometimes the duplicate books were not bound with exactly the same pages, so some books overlap each other in date. Also, some log book pages have writing too close to its spine edge and after binding, some words and numbers were ‘lost’ in the spine if the binding remained tight over the decades. Further, it must be kept in mind that the names of ships, both American and foreign, as well as geographical locations usually expressed in different languages will have variations in spelling. With this in mind, the deck officers of the Essex, when writing the log pages, may misunderstand what the actual name of a ship or geographical marker actually is and their handwriting may present challenges or be nearly illegible. The digitization and editing of the USS Essex log books were made possible with funding provided by the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant program, part of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.

Log Book 7 of the USS Essex: April 26, 1879 - October 22, 1879

The National Archives houses USS Essex Log Book 7. Throughout Log Book 7, comments were made on:

• sail adjustments with sail type and action specified
• banking of boiler fires in order to put the ship on stand-by for immediate use
• coupling and uncoupling the propellor when the ship was shifting from steam to sail and vice-versa
• when under steam the different watches record the average steam boiler pressure and engine revolutions 
• lowering of smokestack and proceeded under sail and vice-versawhen the Essex was underway
• when anchored nearly every watch described the state of the anchor cables: crossed (‘cross in hawse, stbd chain on top’ or ‘Elbow in hawse’) and often will mention ‘clearing the hawse’ (the crossed anchor cables were uncrossed) casting deep sea lead for soundings
• patent log readings
• water distillation using the ship’s boilers to produce freshwater and refilling the freshwater tanks
• coaling of the ship
• weather recording: temperature, wind speed and direction, barometer readings, state of the sea
• recording the ship’s behavior (heavy rolling or pitching)
• crew conducting ship maintenance: engine maintenance/repair, general ship cleaning, scraping and painting - and sometimes tarring and caulking - the ship’s hull and infrastructure, tarring down rigging, airing of rigging, repairing stays, repairing yards and booms, loosed sails to dry, repairing sails, turned and cleaned hammocks,
• crew conducting drills: furling and unfurling sails, target practice with the main battery (great guns), boat drills - all hands called to arms and away all boats for naval tactics under sail and oars, general quarters drills, small arms drills, fire drills
• Marine Guard infantry tactics drills
• cadet/apprentice drills: signaling drills
• receiving fresh water from shore through pumps or lighter
• receiving provisions and stores: food, medical supplies, clothing, engineering gear, construction
• Quarterly Board of Survey’s findings of condemned articles on board (food, equipment) and their fate (food was usually tossed overboard) from the inventories of the different ship’s departments (Ordnance, Engineering, Navigation, Equipment, Medical, Pay)
• crew promotions
• crew quarters inspection
• liberty parties sent ashore
• crew members are discharged at their own request (DOR)
• lists of new crew members - recruits or transfers from other ships- taken on board during a cruise
• crew transfers to other ships
• crew members in solitary confinement or other punishments for various infractions, AWOL crew, general and summary court martial proceedings, AWOL crew put in irons
• Sunday services after the reading of the Articles for Better Government of the Navy

At the beginning of Log Book 7, on April 26, 1879, the USS Essex was at anchor in Montevideo, Uruguay under Commander Winfield Scott Schley. The Commanding Officers of corvette HMS Garnet and gunboat HBN Elk visited Essex, and an American brigantine and a Pacific Mail Steamship Company (out of New York) steamer anchored in the Bay of Montevideo. The Italian gunboat Volace came down the river and anchored in the bay and the Italian gunboat Governolo went to sea.

The Bay of Montevideo was very busy and crowded during the month of May in 1879. Essex detached some cadet midshipmen and ordered them to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis for examinations. and a ship’s Ensign was placed under suspension for inflicting an illegal punishment on a crewman. Essex was informed of funerals on board HMS Garnet and the Brazilian corvette Trajano, and lowered her colors to half mast in recognition. Salutes were heard fired by Garnet in honor of renewed diplomatic relations between Uruguay and the United Kingdom. Flagship USS Hartford entered the Bay of Montevideo and anchored, with her Commanding Officer visiting Commander Schley on Essex; the Commanding Officer of the French gunboat Bruat visited Schley as well. Several ships arrived at Montevideo including a Lambert and Holt (an British company) and Pacific Mail steamer. Also, a French steamer left the river and anchored in the bay while the HMS Elk and two other British steamers arrived from Buenos Aires and headed up river. A Pacific Steam Navigation Company (out of England) steamer, Italian steamer, Uruguayan gunboat, and two Pacific Mail steamers went to sea; one of the mail steamers carried mail from Essex for delivery in the US. The HMS Garnet and gunboat HMS Mallard also left the harbor.

The crew dressed Essex with the Uruguayan flag on the mainmast in honor of Uruguayan Independence Day on May 18. Brazilian ironclad Sete de Setembro anchored in the Bay of Montevideo and fired a salute that was answered by several other ships. A French admiral visited Flagship USS Hartford, and two Essex ensigns were sent to Hartford to participate in a court martial. A Pacific Mail steamer from Valparaiso, Chile, French mail and Royal Mail steamers, two American ships - a barque-rigged whaler and barkentine - all anchored in the bay. Italian corvette Governolo fired a salute while flying the French flag on her foremast and the French frigate, Flagship Venus, flew the Italian flag and returned the salute. On May 24, Flagship Hartford fired a salute in honor of Queen Victoria's birthday while Essex was dressed with Uruguayan flag on her mainmast; all the foreign men-of-war in the port fired salutes in answer. The Commanding Officer of the Brazilian corvette Trajano boarded the Essex to visit with Commander Schley. In late May, several ships arrived at Montevideo and anchored, including two Lambert and Holt steamer steamers, a Pacific Mail steamer, the Spanish corvette Consuelo, the French warship Factique**, a German steamer; two American whalers shifted their berths to accommodate the arriving ships. Meanwhile, an English gunboat, a Brazilian corvette, and French steamer leave the harbor, while the French gunboats, Venus and Bruat,left Montevideo but returned later in the same day. A US Admiral* visited the Brazilian ironclad Sete de Septembro. The HMS Garnet entered the Bay of Montevideo and anchored and raised the Uruguayan flag on her mainmast. She then fired a 21-gun salute, and then a 13-gun salute while flying the French flag. The French Flagship Venus fired a 13-gun salute in answer to the Garnet.

Commander Schley ordered the crew to dress the Essex with the Italian flag at the mainmast and fired off a salute in recognition of the Italian Republic Day on June 1. Essex recorded AWOL crewmen regularly in the ship’s log - usually the men were over-due on shore liberty, often drunk. However, one AWOL Essex crew member was found on the American whaling bark Amolda; when discovered, he was returned and confined on board the ship. Commanding Officer Schley visited HMS Garnet and Venus engaged in target practice. Several vessels arrived at Montevideo and anchored including the Italian gunboat Volace, the American bark Sarah A. Staples, and steamers from Pacific Mail, Italy, Brazil, France, Germany, and the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. Further, a Lambert and Holt steamer and a Brazilian gunboat left the Bay of Montevideo while the Factique** shifted her berth within port and and then went upriver. On June 10, USS Hartford fired a salute while flying her colors on her foremast. Italian and German steamers anchored in the harbor and an American three-masted schooner traveled upriver. With its flag at half-mast, the Uruguayan fort fired its guns for 23 minutes on June 12; reason unknown. HMS Mallard came to anchor while Sete de Setembro and Venus left the bay.

On June 16, the Spanish bark Sebastian Cunsia  “in getting underway fouled us on port quarter and did the following damages vis Both whale boats davits bent  one sleeve bent and one broken  Whale boat davit cleat lost overboard  Whale boats strong back cracked  Life buoy staff broken  five plate and box lost overboard  buoy guard broken and part of it lost overboard.  supporting chain lost overboard.  After section of Poop rail and five of the supporting stanchions broken and three of the sockets for same drawn out. spanker boom crotch cracked and the crotch brasses bent. Hook of spanker gaff slings broken. Plank shear moulding and spanker boom chafed. Whale boats falls stranded and after guy of davit and port spanker vang carried away.” The ship’s carpenters commenced repairs to the Essex the next day, but most of the damaged items were sent ashore to Montevideo for repairs. The Italian gunboat Governolo left harbor and Essex prepared for an incoming storm by lowering the light yards; when the storm hit the ship, a second anchor was dropped for safety and stability.

On June 20, Commander Schley ordered the Essex be dressed with the English flag at the mainmast in honor of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne; Hartford, Garnet, and the shore battery fired salutes in commemoration. A Lambert and Holt steamer arrived at Montevideo and an American barkentine set out to sea. On June 24, heavy weather moved into the Bay of Montevideo; Essex took water over her bow and rail for two days. Due to the rough seas, an American bark (possibly Sarah A. Staples mentioned above) could not secure her anchor berth and blew into the bay with her ensign upside-down as a sign of distress; she was towed to anchorage abreast of Custom House by a Uruguayan harbor tug. In calmer weather, HMS Mallard shifted her berth from the inner to the outer harbor and later headed upriver. Near the end of the month, the US Flagship, shore battery, and HMS Garnet fired a 21 gun salute, and an Italian gunboat (probably Volace) went upriver.

The ship’s gear that had been sent to Montevideo for repairs from the collision with the Sebastian Cunsia returned to the Essex in early July 1879. Italian corvette Governolo anchored in the bay, as does the Brazilian ironclad Sete de Setembro. On American Independence Day, the Montevideo shore batteries and the foreign warships at anchor fire salutes in commemoration. Just after July 4, Commander Schley leaves Essex to attend the funeral of the Brazilian navy captain of Sete de Setembro. In a moment of relaxation, a Boat race between the fore and main top crew took place, and the main top crew was victorious. A Pacific Mail, Lambert and Holt, and French steamers came into the harbor and anchored, while another Lambert and Holt vessel went to sea. The crew dressed the Essex for Argentine Independence Day on July 9. In mid-July, the English gunboat Elk and French corvette Bruat left the bay, the German ironclad Hansea arrived, another German steamer anchored at Montevideo, and Essex sent a visiting party to the Flagship Hartford. The crew dressed the Essex to commemorate Uruguayan Constitution Day, with the foreign flag on the mainmast, on July 18.

After repairing the steam drum, the Essex crew made plans to up anchor and make passage to Buenos Aires. On July 20, the American Charge d' Affaires assigned to Uruguay, General John C. Caldwell, boarded the ship and they set sail the next day. The log made note of the Indis and Chico Bank Light Ships and the Farralone and Colonia Lights as the Essex traveled through the Rio de la Plata - the estuary River Plate. Anchored in Buenos Aires on July 21, a liberty party went ashore and ship maintenance was carried out. The ship left Argentina on July 29, heading back to Montevideo, noting Montevideo, Punta Indis, and Punta Brava Lights, and the Punta Bank Light Ship along the way. Essex anchored in Montevideo the next day, taking bearings off of Rat Island and the Customs House. Once settled, the ship received visits from officers assigned to the Brazilian, Italian, and Spanish men-of-war in the Bay of Montevideo.

On August 2, 1879, Essex departed Montevideo heading to Rio de Janeiro, sighting the Punta Negro, East Point, Maldonado, Lobas Island, San Jose Ignacis, Punta del Este, Punta Piedras, and Santa Maria Lights along the way. Taking soundings while under steam, Essex spotted a Pacific Steam Navigation Company vessel, along with Polinais Point, Castillo Island Point. The ship stopped steaming and discontinued soundings, then set sails as they continued toward Brazil. While sailing, Essex communicated using maritime signal flags with a French brig traveling from Cape Town to Montevideo. Once again under steam on August 9, the engine went out of commission due to two broken piston bolts the low pressure cylinder. Commander Schley ordered sails raised and Essex completed her journey to Rio de Janeiro under wind power, sighting a ship carrying a hermaphrodite brig sail configuration along the way. Passing Raza Island on August 13, Essex anchored - skillfully under sail - in Rio de Janeiro, taking bearings off Fort Villegagnon and Fort Boa Viagem (misspelled Viagen in the log). Flagship USS Hartford signaled Essex and the ship received official visits from Brazilian, English and Italian Naval officers, including the Commanding Officer of the Brazilian corvette Flagship Nictheroi/Nictheroy.

On August 14, Essex flew her colors at half-mast in memory of US Rear Admiral Enoch Greenleafe Parrott, who died in mid-May 1879; the ship only received word of his death in mid-August. The Commanding Officers of HMS Elk and an-Italian frigate visit Essex. A Royal Mail steamer and Frenchs steamer leave port while a Lambert & Holt steamer and Royal Mail steamer arrive in Rio de Janeiro. On August 16, a Brazilian ironclad ship was towed out of the port and the Commanding Officers of HBMS Mallard and a Brazilian man-of-war board Essex for a visit, and the Italian man-of-war Archimedes anchors. On August 20 the Essex Engineering Department received four replacement piston bolts to fix the lower pressure cylinder - that put the engine out of commission for 11 days - with two extra bolts to add to the department’s stores. The ship lowered her flag to half-mast during a funeral procession of the Italian frigate Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Commanding Officer of HMS Garnet and the American Consul General visited the Essex. Captain R. L. Meade is taken on board for passage back to the US and the American Minister to Brazil, Judge Henry Washington Hilliard, visited Commander Schley. Essex also received new crewmen, transferred from Flagship USS Hartford.

On August 26, Commander Schley read a letter from Admiral Edward T. Nichols, Commander of the South Atlantic Squadron, commending the Essex crewmen for their service before they head back to the US. .Essex then left Rio de Janeiro for the State of Bahia, Brazil, noting Cape Frio and passing a Lambert and Holt steamer and a Pacific Mail steamer, and sighting a barkentine and a brigantine. On August 30, USS Essex steamed into and anchored at Bahia, taking bearings off of Fort San Marcello and the Gamboa Banks Buoy. On September 1, 1879, Essex took on coal and the next day, she set out for Philadelphia. She steamed past the San Antonis Lighthouse and then lowered the smokestack and proceeded under sail. Essex exchanged colors with an English ship whose international maritime code number was W.T.B.S., as well as a British bark. Between September 15 and 17, Essex was under both steam and sail intermittently, but then proceeded under sail for the remainder of the month, spotting small bits of gulfweed on September 30.

At the beginning of October 1879, USS Essex was on course - under sail - to Philadelphia, conducting exercises at the great guns along the way. Large amounts of gulfweed were noted, and she passed a brigantine, a three-masted schooner, and exchanged colors with the American packet Champion. On October 8, the Cape Henlopen Light was sighted as Essex proceeded up Delaware Bay, also noting Brandywine and Cape May Lights. Essex anchored near Egg Island Light on October 9, and the next day she steamed into the Delaware River. She passed the Flagship USS St. Louis and anchored at League Island Navy Yard. On October 14, Essex was inspected by the Board of Inspection, presided over by Commodore George H. Cooper. The crew conducted divisional exercises and drills and participated in a dress parade. From October 15 on, the Essex and Navy Yard crews prepared the ship for a lengthy overhaul. The crews unbent the sails and stored them below decks, unloaded the magazine and sent the armaments to Fort Mifflin, unloaded the remaining coal and stores, took down the topgallant masts and yards and passed them to shore, unrigged the ship, and hoisted out the battery. On October 22, 1879, the gunboat USS Essex was officially put out of commission.

*MHM contends the American admiral who visited the Brazilian ironclad Sete de Septembro was Admiral Edward T. Nichols, Commander of the South Atlantic Squadron, berthed on Flagship USS Hartford.

**MHM suspects the French ship referred to as Factique is actually named Fatigue.

Tags:

American Ships: whaling bark Amolda, packet Champion, sloop-of-war USS Essex, sloop-of-war Flagship USS Hartford, bark Sarah A. Staples

Brazilian Ships: corvette Flagship Nictheroi/Nictheroy, ironclad Sete de Setembro, corvette Trajano

British Ships: gunboat HBMS Elk, corvette HMS Garnet, gunboat HMS Mallard

French Ships: gunboat Bruat, warship Factique/Fatigue, frigate Flagship Venus

German Ship: ironclad Hansea

Italian Ships: man-of-war Archimedes, frigate Giuseppe Garibaldi, corvette Governolo, gunboat Volace

Spanish Ships: corvette Consuelo, bark Sebastian Cunsia

In Copyright. This work is copyrighted to Ann Merriman, Christopher Olson, and Maritime Heritage Minnesota. It cannot be duplicated, altered, or hosted online by an unauthorized third party. It cannot be sold for a profit or used to make a profit by any unauthorized third party and no commercial use is allowed. It can be used as a scholarly resource with proper citation to Ann Merriman, Christopher Olson, and Maritime Heritage Minnesota.

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